by Jackie Dale

My morning starts with immediate work. The leisurely cup of coffee is nonexistent during kitten season. The first thing I do is feed the many hungry bottle babies. I make the formula the night before to save time. Then, I have to clean the litter boxes because I do believe that the inside cats wait all day long in order to all go poop during the night. Next, I feed the outside cats. I have the cats that hang in the front, the cats that hang in the back, and the cats that live around the fringe of the perimeter. Everyone has their chosen area, and they pretty much stay there. Most of the black and white cats that were dumped in my yard last year reside in the backyard area. My husband calls it “Tuxedo Junction.”

Once all the kittens are fed, I start the transition to the outside play tents. Even though I have to make several trips, I hand carry them out. This helps them enjoy being handled. The largest group goes into the chicken coop. Once the outside groups are in their tents, I go inside and clean their pens/cages. That takes about two hours. Once evening arrives, I carry each group of kittens back into the house where their clean quarters await. Everyone gets an evening meal of canned food. Then, I go outside and clean up the outside tents so that they are ready to go in the morning. Of course, during hot weather I have to shift the schedule a bit. I get up at first light to put the kittens outside while still cool. All clean-up must be completed by noon when the temperatures start to soar and the kittens are brought back inside.

45 minutes to Wrangle a Cat

I had an exciting morning one day when I went to pick up a cat to be fixed. The lady said the cat was feral but was in her laundry room. I thought it would be easy to get into a carrier. Well, I was SO wrong! To start, her laundry room was HUGE! The cat did not want to be touched at all, so I ended up chasing it around the room trying to corner it and force it to run into the carrier. At one point the cat leapt onto the counter, bounced off the window and landed on my arm, delivering a deep scratch. I ended up cornering it behind the washer and dryer. We had to move the dryer out, I climbed over the counter and found myself face to face with a very pissed off cat. I stood there, holding the carrier, contemplating my next move and wishing I had worn long pants instead of shorts. After several tense minutes of “maneuvering” in an incredibly tight space … Success! The cat ran in, and I slammed the door shut. And “Thank You,” I was given a generous donation for my efforts.

TNR and DRAMA

Next up was a challenging TNR project: three kittens living on the roof of a home. Mom was around, but the kittens were unable to get off the roof. First thing I did was explain that I did not remove or relocate cats. The woman said fine. The second thing I said was “Why didn’t you provide some kind of ramp, i.e. a board, so they could get down?” I guess they didn’t think of that. That should have been my first clue. So, I climbed a ladder and set traps on the roof of the house. I caught all three kittens as well as the mother. I took them to be fixed, kept them overnight at my house, and brought them back to the home the next day. I explained that one of the kittens was not yet two pounds and would need to remain with me until weight was reached. I released the mom and two kittens. One of the kittens ran back up onto the roof, angering the man. He started ranting about them being up there and said he was going to hose the kitten off the roof. The man and the woman then both began to say how they wish the kittens and mom would just disappear. The man said, “I wish they would just die or something.” I said, my voice dipping with sarcasm, “Maybe you’ll get lucky and they’ll get eaten by coyotes. The man says, with emphatic sincerity, “God, I hope so!” Now I’m angry. I told him that was a rude and disrespectful thing to say after I just spent three days on this project. He said he was just speaking the truth. I told him I had zero interest in his opinions or “truths.” By now we are shouting at each other while the woman is trying to calm the man. I throw my traps in the car, tell them I completely regret releasing the kittens in this toxic environment and will NOT be returning the third kitten. I walk over to the lady who is holding my money, take it and instruct her to “never call me again!” Thankfully this sort of drama is not the norm.

Meanwhile the kittens/cats trickled in: three bottle babies from a local school, a stray mom and her three kittens, a tortie kitten found in the middle of a busy street.

Microchips Work

A friend asked me to take in a stray cat that showed up at her house. I told her I was full but could she foster for a few days till a space opened up. She said yes and I said let’s get him neutered right away. Well, it turned out the gorgeous cat had already been fixed. The vet did a microchip scan, and he had one! We obtained the owner’s number but attempts to reach by phone proved futile so a visit was made to the address on the chip. Honestly, I was certain it was going to be a case of owner moved and left cat behind. I was never so happy to be wrong! The owner of the cat one day thought it would be fun to take the cat to work. But, big surprise, the cat ran away. Long story short, they were thrilled to get their cat back.

I wish I had more happy endings like that. The month did end on a happy note with my northern rescue taking seven kittens from me and my coast rescue taking six adults. I put a lot of miles on my car this past week but it is totally worth it!

Donations Are Always Greatly Appreciated!! I can’t operate without them. If you would like to make a donation, I have a PayPal account jackiejoy@hotmail[dot]com. You can also support the post office and send donations/supplies via good old snail mail to Jackie Dale, P O Box 1859, Reedley, CA 93654.

You can check out more animal rescue articles in KRL’s animal rescue section! Join our Pets Facebook group to help keep up with our pet articles.

Jackie Dale is a freelance writer who lives in Reedley with her husband of 27 years, Frank, and their 2 children. A former ballerina, Jackie now teaches yoga and fitness classes privately and at local area gyms in addition to her cat related duties.